Tinubu accompanies Buhari to Abidjan for EU-AU summit

A national leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, is one of those in the entourage of President Muhammadu Buhari to the 5th European Union-African Union Summit holding in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire on Wednesday and Thursday.

The President and members of his entourage arrived the Félix Houphouët-Boigny International Airport, Abidjan, at exactly 5.16 pm local time (6:16pm Nigerian time) on Tuesday.

They were received by the President of Cote d’Ivoire, Alassane Ouattara.

Apart from Tinubu, others who accompanied the President are governors Emmanuel Udom of Akwa Ibom State, and Mohammed Abubakar of Bauchi State.

Some ministers were also in his entourage.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, led the Nigerian delegation, which included the President of African Development Bank, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina; Minister of Youths and Sports, Solomon Dalung; Minister of Interior, Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazzau (retd.); National Security Adviser, Maj. Gen. Babagana Munguno (retd.); Nigeria’s ambassador, Ibrahim Isa; Senior Special Assistant to the President on Diaspora Affairs, Abike Dabiri-Erewa and some embassy officials as well as representatives of Nigerians resident in Cote d’Ivoire to receive him.

Miss Emmanuella Ejim presented a bouquet of flowers to the President.

He was thereafter treated to a brief cultural display before leaving the airport.

Buhari will participate in working sessions on the summit, with the theme, ‘Investing in the Youth for a Sustainable Development,’ and on the margins of the Summit, meet with a number of African heads of state and their EU counterparts.

He will use the occasion of the summit to reiterate Nigeria’s readiness to work with African and European countries to address the challenges affecting both continents, such as peace and security.

The Nigerian leader will attend the official luncheon to be hosted by the government of Cote d’Ivoire in honour of visiting heads of state and government and other delegations.

According to the organisers, 83 heads of state representing 55 African countries and 28 European countries are slated to attend the meeting.